PRAYAGRAJ, Jan. 11 -- The Allahabad high court has directed the commissioner of police, Prayagraj, to immediately register an FIR against a man and the gram panchayat official concerned in connection with the alleged manipulation of the man's date of birth. The court, in its order dated January 5 has also warned that, in the event of non-compliance, it would proceed against the commissioner of police, Prayagraj. The bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Anish Kumar Gupta passed the order in a petition filed by one Shiv Shankar Pal seeking a direction to the passport authority to correct the date of birth on his passport from 1994 to 2005. However, when the court examined the records, it noted the absurdity of the petitioner's claim. It took into account his high school examination certificate which indicated that he passed the examination in 2011. The Allahabad high court questioned how it was possible for a 2005-born person to sit for this examination in 2011, at the age of six. The court termed the situation as 'shocking' and remarked that the extent of fabrication of documents was a direct result of "widespread corruption". The court directed the lodging of an FIR for the offences of cheating and forgery under the relevant provisions of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the petitioner and also against the officials concerned of the gram panchayat, who had issued the birth certificate, showing his date of birth as July 11, 2005. During the proceedings, the court noted that the petitioner's high school examination certificate, issued by the Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad in the year 2011, explicitly recorded his date of birth as July 11, 1994. Furthermore, the Aadhaar card originally submitted by the petitioner at the time of passport application also showed his date of birth (DOB) of 1994. However, a copy of the Aadhaar card annexed with the writ petition showed the date of birth as July 11, 2005. This indicated that a correction had been carried out subsequently. Petitioner, while seeking correction in his passport, had relied upon the birth certificate issued by the gram panchayat, Prayagraj, in November last year, which certified the petitioner's date of birth as 2005. Highlighting the absurdity of the claim, the court observed, "It is relevant to mention that if the contention of the petitioner is accepted and the date of birth is corrected, as prayed for, to the year 2005, then the High School examination certificate would reflect that the petitioner had taken the said examination at the age of approximately six years". Taking a stern view of the "lack of bona fides" and the 'manipulations' evident on record, the court directed the Commissioner of Police, Prayagraj, to forthwith register an FIR. The court has fixed January 27, 2026 as the next date of hearing in the case....